Sony’s got new mobile tech to show at MWC 2016

Early on February 22, Sony will hold a special press event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where it will — presumably, at least — reveal some choice new mobile hardware. Invitations are already being sent out, but nothing about what it will present on the day has been given away.

We hesitate to say it’ll show off new smartphones, because it has only recently launched the Xperia Z5 family, and even with Sony’s often swift update schedule, replacing them with the Xperia Z6 family after a mere five months on sale may be pushing it. Instead, we’re wondering if Sony will concentrate on the other mobile devices it produces, several of which are due an upgrade.

Perhaps most in need is Sony’s smartwatch, the SmartWatch 3. While the hardware may still keep up with more modern Android Wear watches — it has GPS inside, which many others do not, for example — the design isn’t as eye-catching. It was announced more than a year ago, which makes it ancient in Sony’s catalog, and given the continued rise in interest surrounding wearables, a successor is a definite possibility. However, this is pure speculation, and there have been no rumors regarding a SmartWatch 4.

In past years, Sony has launched new Xperia tablets at Mobile World Congress, and may use the 2016 show to update its range to include models using the Xperia Z5 name. At MWC 2014, it announced the Xperia Z4 Tablet, for example. Again, there hasn’t been any discussion regarding a Z5 tablet range yet.

Sony had a typically large presence at CES 2016, and held a press conference just before the show opened; but it didn’t make any major product announcements. That may not be the case at MWC, but we’ll know for sure on the day. Sony’s not the only company trying to build anticipation for its MWC announcements, LG has also said it’ll be holding an event just before the show opens on February 21. We’ll be in Barcelona at MWC to bring you all the news.

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